Hey, stop right there!
You’re overwhelmed, aren’t you?
Yeah, I’m talking to you. Eyes glazed over from staring at analytics you can’t decode, mind racing with video ideas you’re too paralyzed to even start. You were so sure YouTube was going to skyrocket your business. Instead, you’re stuck in confusion, doubt, and let’s be real, a dash of despair. You’re making YouTube way harder than it needs to be. Yes, it is a platform that you need to understand, but no, it’s not a total mystery. And no, you are not at the mercy of the algorithm. By focusing on just a couple of key things, you can make a huge improvement to the performance of your YouTube videos.
Today, I’m going to reveal three game-changing strategies that turned my YouTube channel around.
My videos went from getting 25 views in the first week to hundreds the first day. And the third strategy is probably the exact opposite of what you think it is. But first, let’s talk about your biggest enemy: overthinking and overwhelm.
Look, you’re a great coach or a great course creator, and you’re an expert in your field. You’re terrific at what you do. But this overthinking? It is your Achilles heel right now. I know because that’s where I was not too long ago. How many hours have you spent agonizing over the perfect video topic? News flash: there is no such thing as perfect. And who’s to say what’s perfect anyway? The only way to truly know what resonates with the audience you’re trying to attract is to dive in and get your hands dirty. But maybe you’re drowning in a downward spiral of overthinking.
You agonize over what video to make next, what to say, what to have as your call to action. You can’t even choose the title for crying out loud because we all know that the title will totally make or break your video, right? This chronic indecision isn’t just a creativity killer; it’s a roadblock that could cost your business dearly. You could have the best program or service in the world, but if you’re constantly second-guessing your content strategy, you’re eroding your own confidence. And a lack of confidence is visible to your audience.
So, what’s at stake if you don’t fix this?
Time, lost revenue, and worst of all, the dream that drove you to start your business in the first place. My mission is to create a rich, impactful life while working less by helping other coaches create a rich, impactful life while working less. And I do that with YouTube as my primary platform to reach my ideal audience. If you want to learn how to do this for yourself, then hit the like button on this video. It will tell YouTube that you like content like this, and then subscribe to the channel because I put out new videos just like this every week.
Back to overthinking. Overthinking eats away at your time, your most precious resource, and you can never get it back. It triggers a chain of procrastination from decisions to actions, and it drains your mental resources, leaving you exhausted and less effective in other crucial areas of your business. Your product quality might dip; your customer interactions might suffer. Before you know it, your overthinking about YouTube has metastasized into a business-wide issue.
Next, we’re going to talk about the YouTube algorithm because understanding it can actually reduce the amount of overthinking that you’re doing, which makes you more effective.
But first, I want to show you how you can break free from this damaging cycle of overthinking.
Tip number one: Set specific goals.
Don’t just aim for more views; set a concrete number as your goal for each month. This clarity will help you direct your efforts. I’m sure you’ve heard the same stories that I have that people who reach their goals usually do so because they wrote them down. You cannot grow what you don’t measure. But when you write it down and you keep it where you can see it every day, you’re so much more likely to hit these goals or at least come pretty darn close. So don’t write down your goal once and then squirrel it away in a drawer. Make it your desktop wallpaper or put it on a sticky note on the wall right by your desk. When you see it every day, you start to visualize and internalize it, and then speak it into existence.
When I wanted to make $100,000 in my first full year as a coach, I printed out a fake check, and I wrote $100,000 in the line, and I made the check out to myself, and I put the date of July 12th, 2019, on it. That was the one-year anniversary of launching my first program. I stuck it into the corner of my computer monitor so that I saw it all day, every day. And guess how much I made by July 12? $102,000. So I’m telling you, the strategy works.
Tip number two: Limit the amount of time that you do research.
It’s so easy to drown in endless options, so allocate specific time blocks for research, and then once the time is up, move on to implementation. My favorite thing to do is to just grab my phone and set a timer. The amount of time that I am choosing to give myself for research might be 10 minutes, could be half an hour, it could be an hour. So I set the timer, and when the timer goes off, I make the decision come hell or high water, and then I will move on and not spend the next weeks second-guessing myself that I made the wrong choice. This is a complete waste of mental energy, and it will not help you. All this does is reinforce the belief that you can’t be trusted to make the right decision. And how can you ever grow to a six or seven-figure coaching business if you don’t trust yourself or your own instincts?
Which brings me to…
Tip number three: Trust your instincts.
Many of my coaching students agonize over what their niche should be. They think about it, and then they post in our group, and they ask for feedback. And then when they tell me what their decision was, they say things like, ‘I hope you’re going to approve. I hope that you’ll tell me I’m on the right track.’ Listen, there is no right answer. There is no one correct niche. It’s not up to me to tell you what your niche should be. There is no one single right decision. There’s only the decision that you choose to make. You started your business because you had a vision. You wanted to help people. Maybe it was something that you personally had struggled with and overcame, and now you want to pay it forward. Don’t lose sight of that. If a content idea excites you, it likely will resonate with your audience as well.
Now, this next part could literally be the difference between a dying channel and one that thrives. Are you ready?
Let’s dive into the mysterious world of the YouTube algorithm.
Understanding how it works can simplify your whole strategy and save you from a ton of needless worry. Picture your content becoming an essential part of someone’s daily YouTube experience just because you understood the algorithm and then you tailored your content accordingly. Not only do they love your content, but it is also the exact audience you’re trying to attract with your videos. Viewers who want, need the services and programs you provide and are searching for the solution to their problem. YouTube’s main goal is to put the right video in front of the right person at exactly the right time, even on the right device.
The videos that I’m shown during the day on my computer are not the same videos that I’m shown at bedtime on my phone. If you understand this one thing, it will help your YouTube channel enormously, and that is this: if you help YouTube achieve its goals, YouTube will help you achieve yours. And keep watching because I’ve got a surprise tip that could totally be the turning point for your whole YouTube journey. YouTube wants viewers to come to the platform, watch a bunch of videos, stay there a long time, and enjoy the viewing session. This is a pretty lofty goal for us content creators.
So how do we know if we’re being successful? Well, when you put out a new video, it gets a whole lot of views right at the beginning. They click the video when it’s suggested to them; then they watch it for a good amount of time. The longer they watch, the better. Ideally, they watch another video of yours when they finish. But even if they don’t watch another one of your videos, if they just watch another video from someone else’s channel and stay on the platform, this is a good thing.
So what keeps someone watching?
They enjoy watching your video. It is that simple. Either they are being entertained, they’re being inspired, they’re being given great information, they like your personality and they find you trustworthy, they relate to you. You’re telling them things in a slightly different way that resonates with them and makes them identify with you. It has nothing to do with your production value and how fancy your editing is or with what your studio looks like. But it has everything to do with your camera presence and how well you can tell a story that holds their attention.
This is where you want to spend the majority of your time: learning how to make eye contact with the camera lens so that the viewers connect with you, learning how to be a better storyteller using storytelling devices such as media res, hooks, open and close loops, learning how to deliver your message in a way that gets the viewer to feel something. This is a learned skill, and everyone can learn it. It is not a god-given talent that you’re born with. I certainly wasn’t born with it. Your channel will be far more successful the better you can be on camera delivering your message. It has nothing to do with your equipment or what’s behind you on camera.
You will also be rewarded for watch time, which is the actual number of minutes watched by the viewer. If you make a 2-minute long video and they watch 100% of it (which nobody does, by the way), that’s only 2 minutes of watch time. But if you make a 15-minute long video and they watch 50% of it, that’s 7 and a half minutes of watch time, and that video will perform way better, even though they didn’t watch it all the way to the end. So make longer videos than you feel comfortable with at the beginning. I promise you it will get easier with time.
One big mistake I see people make is that when they have a video that’s performing way better than the rest of their videos, they don’t do anything about it.
You got to ride that wave! If this video is taking off, you’ve got to make another video on a similar topic. It could be the follow-up or the next logical step for the viewer to take. It could be the step that they do before this particular thing. This topic is resonating with them, so make more content on this topic. Your AI is telling you that they like it.
Now that we’ve talked about the algorithm, here is a liberating secret: there is not just one right way to crack the YouTube code.
You’ve heard the saying, ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat.’ It’s a terrible saying, isn’t it? Well, the same holds true for conquering the YouTube algorithm. You don’t have to stick to one rigid formula or mimic what everyone else in your niche is doing. The key is to experiment and then observe. Try different lengths of video, try posting on different days or at different times, even different video formats. You could do vlogs, tutorials, talking head style, interviews.
Keep track of how each one performs. If you typically introduce yourself by saying, ‘hey, welcome back to my channel,’ try not doing that, or do it later in the video. See which method works longer for you by holding your viewers’ attention longer. If you typically film in your house, try filming outside, or vice versa. Try winging it instead of reading from a script, or use more b-roll. Again, there’s no one right way to do things. There’s only the way that works best for you, and the only way you’ll know what that is is to test it. This is your data, your gold mine. Use it to refine your approach. It’s all about learning from real-world feedback. When you’re flexible and responsive to what the algorithm wants, it’s going to take notice.
But what is the one thing that makes YouTube feel so hard?
What is the one thing that will make the biggest difference for you? It’s something that’s totally not even a thing, and it’s this: worry that you don’t have the latest, most expensive gear. You don’t have all of the fancy stuff. Here’s a secret: some of the most popular YouTubers started with just their cell phone and no microphone whatsoever. They were filming in a bedroom, sitting on the floor, with an unmade bed behind them and they have huge audiences today. So, reality check: your content value is not measured by the crispness of your 4K camera or the perfection of your lighting placement. What really matters is your message, your authenticity, the value that you are giving, and your ability to engage your viewers.
So start with what you have.
Your smartphone is an amazing camera. Learn the basics of good framing. See how close my head is to the top of the frame? That’s good. Don’t have your head down here or, heaven forbid, down at the bottom of the frame. That looks terrible. Decide what will be behind you on camera. Make sure it’s not too cluttered or too busy. An inexpensive microphone will be a great investment, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
So don’t tell yourself that you cannot make videos until you have the perfect YouTube studio setup. As you grow, consider upgrading your equipment over time. But remember, even the best gear can’t save lackluster content. So spend your time learning to be comfortable in front of the camera and to speak from the heart without sounding like a robot.
Remember, you have a message out there that someone is dying to hear. So don’t wait for the stars to align; go make your own constellation.
Ready to take your coaching business to the next level? Get my FREE resources to help you create a winning video strategy for your coaching brand. Whether you’re just getting started with video or looking to up your game, these resources will provide you with valuable tips, tricks, and insights to help you succeed.
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